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Charlotte's Transit Future

ABOUT THE TOPIC

Charlotte’s transit system is bigger and more complex than ever. A new light rail line opened in March. Construction continues on the second phase of the Gold Line, or streetcar, linking east and west Charlotte. CATS recently reworked its system of bus routes to help people who don’t need to travel uptown. But the current state and federal governments, which paid for most of the rail projects, are unlikely to support any more significant funding for transit. What is Charlotte’s transit future? Is what we have now as much as we’ll ever get?

PANELISTS

Greg Phipps
Phipps, a Democrat, represents District 4 in Northeast Charlotte on City Council. Phipps served as chair of the Keep Charlotte Beautiful Committee and was appointed to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission in 2009 where he served until his election to City Council in 2013. He is a graduate of the CMPD Citizens Academy, former member of the CMPD University City Leadership Council, and president of Back Creek-II homeowners’ association.

John Muth
Muth serves as the deputy director for the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS). He has twice served as the interim CEO/public transit director. As deputy director, his responsibilities include the planning and implementation of rapid transit projects, multi-modal facilities, transit centers, park-and-ride facilities, and passenger projects and programs. He led the development of the 2030 Corridor System Plan for light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit in five rapid transit corridors.

Mary Newsom
​Newsom is Director of Urban Policy Initiatives at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. She has written about urban growth topics in Charlotte and the region since 1995, first at The Charlotte Observer and, since 2011, at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, where she oversees the institute's online publications and works on civic engagement projects such as Charlotte City Walks.

Edwin Peacock
Edwin Peacock served as a Republican at-large member of the City Council from 2007 through 2011. He was twice the Republican nominee for Mayor, in 2013 and 2015. Edwin is currently serving on the Leading On Opportunity Council; a council responsible for the implementation of the 2017 Opportunity Task Force Report which was formed to combat systemic poverty in our city. He’s a Charlotte native who moved back home after living and working in the metro Washington, D.C. area for 12 years.

Moderator – Greg Lacour
Greg Lacour is a contributing editor for the magazine and a contributor to multiple other media outlets, including Our State, The Nation, Entrepreneur, and Distinction magazine, WFAE, and the Reuters news service. He spent 16 years working for daily newspapers, including The Charlotte Observer, and was a member of a team that won the Public Service Pulitzer in 2006. For Charlotte magazine, he concentrates on political and civic issues, including #discussCLT content.

ABOUT #discussCLT
At Charlotte magazine, we are committed to making this city better. Each year we feature a few Charlotteans who are doing just that in our December issue. We call them our Charlotteans of the Year. Throughout the year, we host a series of discussions on our city's defining issues with local leaders, thinkers, and YOU. We call it #discussCLT, an event series powered by OrthoCarolina. You can join the conversation by attending events, listening to the podcast, subscribing to the newsletter and reading articles.

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